Consolation...weeee~!

Now playing : OST Hairspray - Without Love

Look-ie here! I've got a consolation prize for a contest I entered for the Pirate Master reality show on AXN. I know it's not the grand prize but it's been a long time now since I last won a prize. I don't quite remember. Maybe this is the FIRST time I ever won a contest prize or any sort. I received a nice black t-shirt and shown in the picture is the design on the back, a plastic folder and a cube-like name card holder.

Beauty of nature

The grass is always greener on the other side

Now playing : Nikki Blonsky - Good Morning Baltimore

I guess each one of us is born this way. We tend to want something more, we tend to see what others have as better than ours and other people would want to have what we have. It's like a game that never ends. Maybe it's meant to be that way. Only with these thoughts do we take steps to improve ourselves. I would assume it's perfectly alright to want better things as long as it doesn't extend to become obsession and self-destruction in achieving something.
I see many people who are working or studying overseas saying that they wish they were back home. They wish they could spend more time with their family and friends. I, on the other hand wish sometimes that I was them, away in a place where the grass is greener 'not literally the grass'. Far away from home, living my life in a place where there are four seasons in a year, away from petty squabbles and savouring what it really is like to be overseas and to have the feeling of excitement of coming home for a vacation instead of the other way around. I wonder if that would be considered tasting the true meaning of life. Coming back is nothing but just a holiday. If you asked me, I don't know..but I think most of those who are living overseas, they don't mind coming back for vacation but if you ask them to stay. I doubt that would happen because the world is so much bigger out there. No matter how much one misses home, once you are out, you probably won't want to come back for good till retirement age. Some may beg to differ but that's the truth.

What am I listening to lately?

Carrie Underwood has just released a strong new single from her upcoming sophomore album. It is a powerful ballad that still stays true to her style and the song is called “So Small”. In contrast with the title, this song is huge and is definitely my flavour of the month. Do you remember another song by a duo called Sky which is a couple of years old already entitled “Some Kinda Wonderful”. It’s got a catchy bouncy tune that is so perfect if you are driving down the country road in an open top sports car and the sky so blue with white clouds way above. I was listening to some old songs recently and stumbled upon this addictive piece of fun. The last time I heard it was when I was still in school and I remembered that Soon Yee and I had talked about the possible meaning of this song’s lyrics.

Moving on is a song from Andrea Corr’s new album and the song is entitled “Ten Feet High”. It sounds like a sad love story about a couple growing apart and my favourite snippet of the song is when she sings the lyrics “Don’t say it’s over, when I still love you”..What about Wet Wet Wet – Somewhere Somehow? I’m sure you have heard that before. It’s not as famous as their other song which is so cliche, Love Is All Around but I definitely like this one much much more. It’s freaky how fast time flies from then till now. Let’s explore 1973. This is James Blunt’s brand new single which is called simply..1973. Probably singing about some experience he had in 1973. *shrug * In this music video, he was heavily bearded and his hair clumsily flat. He’s definitely not hot but his songs are! I don’t really know how to describe it but it gives me a nostalgic feeling. Dang, I think coz he keeps singing 1973 but then again I wasn’t even born yet.

There’s another song which probably not many people are familiar with. The band is called Embraces (I think it’s a band). I heard it from the album ‘Essential bands’ which I borrowed from a friend. The song title is Nature’s Law. The slow, moody melody with a pinch of rock caught my attention and I’ve been hooked on it ever since. I’ve even set it as my phone ringtone now. I’m also hooked on anything to do with Michael Buble. More so for his 2 original songs in his latest album. The songs are “Lost” and “Everything”. I swear if he appears in front of me right now and serenades me with either one of these songs in his smooth, silky voice, I will totally melt. Who wouldn’t? *Wake up! Stop dreaming!* What girl in their right minds wouldn’t fall in love with that sexy deep voice of his? Somebody please back me up and (Soon Yee) please don’t say Winnie The Pooh sounds sexier…

Finally to close off this list of current favourites is No Doubt’s Sunday Morning. *I thought I knew you, wo ohhh, I thought I knew you, wo ohhh, I thought I knew you well, so well* How do I differentiate all these from other favourites that don’t make the cut. It’s because these are the songs that I keep listening to on my player and it creepily plays in my head all the time even when I’m not listening to it. I probably have an embedded internal music player in my skull. Wonders of technology and crappiness.

Online games

Now playing : James Blunt - 1973

These days things have been getting a little dull and routine. Okay...routine is a lifetime thing. It has been routine all the while but it has never been boring. I've always enjoyed my lifestyle. :P What can I say...sometimes just lazing on the couch and reading a good novel really makes me 'high'. *shrug* A real novel..mind you.
Now, the dull factor has crept into my senses. Ever since I completed my masters course I've been looking out for a possible breakthrough into a different field. Not that I've tried much, I didn't but I've been thinking what to do with my life aside from IT. I'm bored with my work. So so so so so bored with it. Anyway, I've been indulging myself in some online games whenever I didn't feel like sleeping early. One thing I've learnt, going to bed early is a disaster waiting to happen. That's because if I go to bed anytime before 11pm I'll be waking up every 2 hours in the middle of the night for no reason. Although I play online games at times, I can't stay focused in it for long. Every 5 minutes I'll be changing games because I get sick of it so easily. But there is one game that I quite like which can be found in www.miniclip.com , under the Sports section called Table Tennis Tournament. Heck, who says I suck at sports? If my former teachers think I suck in sports..they are dead wrong. Just because I'm short and tiny doesn't mean I'm useless, I triumph in the virtual arena. So suck this in fellas! Haha...
Apart from the load of crap I just mentioned, today I went to watch Rush Hour 3. It's a very funny show. Chris Tucker is so annoyingly lovable. Before the movie, Ding and I headed to the CIMB bonus points fiesta to redeem some stuff. There was quite a number of people there. Hmm..a lot of people in fact. They set up this large fans which sprays water vapour. I understand that it is meant to cool things down but man, it's irritating. Everytime I walk past one of these giant water blower thingy, my face gets wet. What's up with that?!
So here I am, it's getting dark and cloudy outside and I'm getting hungry. Another Sunday slipping through my fingers and a long week ahead. I hope I survive the mental torture...wahaha. Cheers!

It's ok to wonder

Now playing : No Doubt - Sunday Morning

Ever wondered how things will have turned out if you had chosen a different path in life? I mean, just ignore all the things people will say about not regretting the past or not to think back on what has happened. Just remember! It is the past that shapes our future. We will spend the rest of our lives thinking about the good and the bad in the past. That is nature’s law. Thinking about the past is perfectly alright, but living in the past is not. This isn’t about regret though. Wondering and regretting is totally different.

Sometimes I do wonder how different I might be right now if I hadn’t chosen to stay in Penang and further my education here. What if I had told my parents, please send me overseas. Back then, my only thought was I will be very homesick. Besides, financially, I saved my parents a lot of money and headache by studying in Penang. :P But now I’m 25 and I believe my thinking has changed slightly. If I think back when I was deciding what to do with my life after SPM but using the mindset or mental state I am in now, I would have wanted to study abroad. It’s a nice thought but I would have squeezed my parent’s pockets dry if I had done that. Maybe things would have turned out differently..better? no? It’s unknown. I’m sure it would have been a very rewarding experience in terms of exposure, independence and experience. But things aren't too bad now, I ain't complaining about my life. I love my life but I tend to imagine different scenarios most of the time.

Anyway, I chose to study Computer Science because back then, I thought that this was the only thing I am able to do and I chose to study here. It was a good thing and I learnt many things there. I enjoyed that episode of my life. If I hadn’t done that, I will not have met the people that are now one of my closest friends. I would never have known how nice it feels to hang out with them. In a way, it’s a blessing! Frankly, I don’t like IT anymore, I don’t like programming and supporting systems, I don’t like learning new technical mumbo jumbo at all but I’m thankful to have studied here and met the great friends I have now. I loved college times. It was 4 great years of my life excluding the exams.

In terms of exposure, fortunately I didn’t miss out totally. I could say I got a slight taste of it when I started working. I was constantly sent to Singapore during the 1^st and 2^nd year of my work and a 2 week stint in the US last year. So I had a preview but of course it is totally different from staying and studying long term in a foreign country. What I experienced is like 'finger food'. Small, temporary yet delicious. I loved my trip to US. It was an eye-opening experience and I liked it there. But now I’m just sitting here staring at the long-ish codes in a program and contemplating how in hell did anybody come up with shit like that. And I wonder… this isn’t for me anymore, is it? It probably was when I first started off but I knew I never wanted to do this forever. Anything to do with training on new technology or new programming language, I could almost vomit blood. I have absolutely zero interest in this now. I’m just shocked at how long I’ve stayed in this field. Time flies in a state of convenience but it’s time for me to seek a new challenge. Whatever that is. I’m still looking. I’m desperate enough to think I might join my dad in his field of work although I grew up having no interest in it. Maybe I have changed. I could learn a lot more and see things a lot differently if I choose to enter that field. But it’s just a passing thought. Someone said that if I wake up every morning and feel energetic to come to work, it means I like my job but if I wake up and feel a big dread and burden, something is very wrong.

Ten Feet High

Now playing : Andrea Corr - Champagne From A Straw

This is the new album and first solo album of Andrea Corr. Obviously it's Andrea Corr from THE CORRS! She's the lead singer of The Corrs in case you were stuck in neverland all these years. :P This is her debut solo album. The first time I heard the album, to be frank, I didn't like it. Then I decided to pop the cd into my car and listen again on the way to work. Bingo! Loved it...just like every other Corrs album. You gotta listen to it more than once to be able to appreciate it. Now I'm hooked on it. I like the first song 'Hello Boys'. It's odd and doesn't seem like something she would sing but it sounds fun. But I didn't quite like the 2nd and 3rd song (Anybody There and Shame On You). Other than that, from song number 4 till the end. It was classic. The album started to pick up on a positive note from track 5. That is 'Ten Feet High' and is my favourite song of the whole album. I loved the piano music in the background. Lovely. I'm a great supporter of The Corrs which is my favourite band ever and Andrea's album certainly lives up to the standards. Other songs like 'Ideal World' and '24 Hours' are also 5 star products in my point of view. There's another catchy song on the album called 'Champagne From A Straw'. This song sets such a fun happy mood. The backing music is absolutely infectious. Worth every dollar...only complain is the album is kinda short. 11 different songs but 14 songs would have been perfect. Nevertheless, it has become my favourite album of 2007.